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  • Mahesh Samat gets expanded role in Disney Asia restructure

    Mahesh Samat gets expanded role in Disney Asia restructure

    MUMBAI: A lot is happening at Disney.

    Walt Disney International (WDI), a part of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for managing the company’s businesses outside of the US excluding Theme Parks and ESPN businesses) today announced a new Asia management structure that will see the creation of the North Asia and South Asia regional hubs. 

    The latter merges India with the company’s integrated south east Asian regional markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam under the leadership of Walt Disney International, South Asia, senior vice-president & managing director Mahesh Samat.

    North Asia will merge Japan, South Korea and Greater China under the leadership of  Walt Disney International, North Asia, executie vice-president & managing director Luke Kang.

    “Our international leadership teams are tasked to increase Disney brand affinity and awareness in key markets around the world,” said  WDI chairman Andy Bird . “Luke and Mahesh have an acute understanding of our brands and franchises and long-standing expertise in our broader operations. This, combined with their understanding of the uniqueness of their markets, and intense entrepreneurial spirit, will continue the momentum we are experiencing in these dynamic regions.” . 

    “This new structure aligns and maximizes efficiencies around regions with similar opportunities and creates the momentum to accelerate growth for the Company in these markets,” he added.

    With operations in 45 countries throughout the world, WDI has implemented integrated structures in international markets that have greatly accelerated revenue in China, produced growth across Japan and Europe and provided unparalleled access to emerging markets throughout Latin America and South East Asia.

    Samat returned to lead The Walt Disney Company India in November 2016, a position he previously held from 2008-2012. Since returning to the role, he has implemented vast organizational changes, creating a clear strategy for the Company and its brands in the Indian entertainment market.  Samat also has more than twenty-five years of experience in FMCG and Healthcare across India, Asia-Pacific and Europe.

    “The South East Asian region is characterized by its dynamic growth and extreme diversity. I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead both teams to create new, innovative ways for audiences to engage with our stories, brands and characters, and drive growth across our businesses,”  said  Samat.

    In his current capacity as The Walt Disney Company Greater China of managing director, Kang has led the organization (excluding Disney’s Parks and Resorts division) to achieve consistent record growth across all business segments. In 2016, Disney was the number one foreign studio at the Chinese box office, and the organization also successfully expanded its reach into new cities and to new consumer groups across China. Throughout his career,  Kang held various management roles across the region.

    “It is an honor to lead Walt Disney International in North Asia, which includes two of the biggest and most dynamic economies in the world.  The region’s ever-changing media and entertainment landscape as well as dynamic consumer products market provides incredible opportunity to continue to forge connections with our brands and franchises to drive growth,” said  Kang.

    Both positions report directly to Bird.

  • Singtel’s CAST adds HOOQ to OTT content line-up, three-month trial offered

    Singtel’s CAST adds HOOQ to OTT content line-up, three-month trial offered

    MUMBAI: Singtel’s OTT video portal app CAST is bringing a new world of entertainment to Singtel postpaid mobile, fibre broadband and Singtel TV customers with the addition of HOOQ.

    HOOQ’s extensive library of over 20,000 movies and TV series can be viewed on mobile, tablets, and even big TV screens enabled with Android TV and Google Chromecast. Customers will be spoilt for choice with programmes by HOOQ’s network of studio partners such as Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Disney, DreamWorks, Lionsgate and over a hundred Asian studios. From Hollywood blockbusters such as Captain America: the First Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor, to popular shows such as The Flash and Supergirl, HOOQ is the only video-on-demand service in Singapore to offer selected Hollywood movies from 90 days of cinema release and TV series with same-day telecasts as the U.S.

    Singtel MD – home, at consumer Singapore Goh Seow Eng said, “Hollywood, Asian and kids’ content is extremely popular with our customers. We are pleased to offer HOOQ’s vast selection in the palm of their hands or comfort of their own homes. We will continue to expand CAST’s content library for our customers’ enjoyment.”

    HOOQ CEO Peter Bithos said, “We are very excited about our partnership with Singtel and proud to bring Singaporeans more of the latest! Binge now on Supergirl, The Flash and Lucifer before catching the latest season the same day as the U.S.! Soon, HOOQ will be bringing three of Marvel’s latest series – Marvel’s Inhumans, Marvel’s Runaways and Marvel’s Cloak and Dagger – the same day as the U.S. telecast! We are always looking for new ways and new titles to keep Singaporeans HOOQ’d month after month!”

    As an introductory offer, Singtel postpaid customers can get a three-month trial on HOOQ with a 12-month contract and pay only S$4.90/month subsequently.

    For customers who opt for a non-contract subscription, they will pay only S$7.90/month.

    HOOQ is the latest addition to CAST’s wide range of content such as Aneka Plus, Asian Plus, Fox+, Variety Plus, Viu Premium and more.

    Singtel postpaid customers can subscribe to HOOQ and enjoy:

    · The best of Hollywood – movies available from 90 days of cinema release and the latest TV series on the same day telecast as the U.S.

    · The largest selection of the best hits – 20,000 movies and TV series for the price of one movie ticket

    · Entertainment for the whole family – including younger kids who can catch their favourite animated series such as Transformers: Robots in Disguise, Mr. Bean and more

    · Unlimited online viewing using up to five devices – download anytime, anywhere

    · An ad-free experience – uninterrupted viewing without ads

  • Zee, Sony and Disney tech providers NexGuard, Colorfront collaborate to ensure distributors stay ahead of pirates

    Zee, Sony and Disney tech providers NexGuard, Colorfront collaborate to ensure distributors stay ahead of pirates

    MUMBAI: NexGuard and Colorfront have released key updates to their joint solution, adding support for multi-layer watermarking workflows and enhanced scalability and automation of forensic watermarking.

    NexGuard’s Emmy award-winning solutions are used by content producers, broadcasters, Pay TV operators and OTT providers around the world, including all major Hollywood studios; AMC Networks in the US; iQiyi, the largest Internet and mobile video service provider in China; ZEE TV in India and sports leagues.

    NexGuard MD Harrie Tholen will also be speaking at the IBC panel discussion “Protecting media assets and countering cyber threats in the OTT world” on 18 September at Content Everywhere Hub.

    NexGuard, a Kudelski company and provider of forensic watermarking technology and solutions, and Colorfront, the Academy and Emmy Award-winning developer of high-performance, on-set dailies and transcoding systems for motion pictures, high-end episodic TV and commercials, released the updates to their joint solution launched in 2016.

    NexGuard also works with the majority of the members of the newly founded Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, a new global coalition dedicated to protecting the dynamic legal market for creative content and reducing online piracy.

    The joint Colorfront-NexGuard solution protects digital content assets, particularly 4K/UHDTV and High Dynamic Range (HDR), in digital cinema, broadcast, Over-The-Top (OTT) internet entertainment and Video on Demand (VoD) applications.

    The solution enables the protection for a vast range of dailies, mezzanine and master deliverables at all stages of the production and post production workflow, whilst also allowing users to track the source of illicit B2B and B2C distribution, particularly of 4K/UHDTV and HDR content.

    The joint solution leverages NexGuard’s world-leading forensic watermarking alongside Colorfront Transkoder deployments by major Hollywood studios including Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal, and Colorfront On-Set Dailies systems used in the workflows motion picture and high-end episodic TV productions including Blade Runner 2049 (Warner), Atomic Blonde (Universal), Game Of Thrones – Season 7 (HBO), Avengers: Infinity War (Marvel/Disney), Robin Hood: Origins (Lionsgate), Moonlight (A24) and The Revenant (20th Century Fox).

    “Security of media assets is a matter Colorfront takes take very seriously. We work closely with our media and entertainment customers to help them find new and better ways to safeguard their content,” says Aron Jaszberenyi, managing director of Colorfront. “Colorfront joined forces with NexGuard in 2016 to integrate their forensic watermarking technology into our On-Set Dailies and Transkoder product. Now, the full integration of the new generation of NexGuard watermarking technology means we are delivering even more advanced content protection tools, to support our clients as they continue the challenge of staying one step ahead of the pirates.”

    New for IBC 2017, the solution has been extended to include:
    Full integration of the NexGuard Manager with the Colorfront Transkoder: Users of the joint solution can easily scale up their use of forensic watermarking on pre-theatrical and pre-aired content, and store all their NexGuard watermarking job metadata in a centralized database for a 360-degree view of all watermarking activities.

    Support for multi-layer watermarking: Up to three levels of NexGuard “G2” watermark layers can be embedded in any given pre-release or pre-aired piece of content by using different watermarking keys, which do not affect the robustness and imperceptibility of the watermarks. This feature enables watermarks to be embedded at the ingest and outgest of post-production workflows.

    “Last year, we joined forces with Colorfront to launch a tool that protects content when it is at its most vulnerable – during the production and post-production phase’’ said Tholen. “As the industry becomes more aware of the dangers of piracy for the creative industries, solutions that provide a robust yet simple integration into existing workflows are increasingly essential. The latest additions to our solution provide customers of the combined Colorfront-NexGuard solution, ranging from studios through to post-production companies and distributors, with an even higher level of content protection and full visibility on all watermarking activities to secure prime assets.”

    Based on the world’s leading forensic watermark, NexGuard forensic watermarking adds a unique, invisible identifier to video content. The watermark remains with the content, even in the case of transcoding, resizing, downscaling, recording by camcorder or any other alteration before illegal re-distribution.

  • Indian content at Netflix to be creatively lead by Disney’s Simran Sethi

    Indian content at Netflix to be creatively lead by Disney’s Simran Sethi

    MUMBAI: Netflix is plumping up on executives of Indian origin as it continues to build its content catalogue targeted at the 1.3 billion strong population nation. Amongst the first to be hired for India was former Star TV-exec-turned-independent film producer,  Swati Shetty, who has been shuttling between Los Angeles and India. The latest to be recruited is experienced programming executive from traditional media, Freeform’s SVP – scripted development Simran Sethi. Sethi has left the Disney-owned network Freeform (earlier ABC Family)  to join Netflix International Originals Production Group in its in the Los Angeles office as the creative executive for India. Her immediate reporting superior is executive Erika North.

    Netflix, in the past couple of years, has been employing executives from traditional TV networks and studios.

    It, along with Amazon Prime Video, sees India’s 300 million smartphone users  as the great hope for global expansion.

    Netflix, which rated India’s Spectranet speed in July as climbing up to 3.19 Mbps, recently unveiled the Gateway Shows that lead to a heroic binge as it seems to know what viewers watch. Viewers are finding their way to the adventures of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist through shows as diverse as the Defenders crew. And, it’s by design – more than 80 per cent of the shows are discovered through Netflix recommendations.

    “At Netflix, we know genres are just wrappers, which is why we work hard to create algorithms that help members break these pre-conceived notions and make it easier for them to find stories they’ll love, even in seemingly unlikely places,” said Netflix VP of product Todd Yellin.

    A couple of months ago, Netflix head honchos Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings met with Indian filmstars Aamir Khan and Shah Rukh Khan as a part of its effort to break through in the subcontinent before competition does. Now, Netflix is bringing in experts such as Sethi to head India content.

    Sethi had joined Freeform in August 2015 where she helped lead the programming rebrand of ABC Family to Freeform, including developing the new series Famous in Love, The Bold Type, late-night show Truth & Iliza,  the upcoming Marvel series Cloak and Dagger,  the mermaid thriller Siren, and the Black-ish  spin-off, among others. Before joining Freeform, Sethi worked at NBC, Sony Pictures Television and Adam Sandler’s Happy Madison after receiving her MBA from Stanford Business School.

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  • Subramaniam is Prime interim head as Amazon seeks new leader

    MUMBAI: Amazon Prime Video India director – content Vijay Subramaniam has been appointed as the interim head till the time a suitable replacement is found for Prime India head Nitesh Kripalani who quit two days ago. Kripalani will however remain on the rolls of Amazon India till November.

    “We are looking to fill this position. In the interim, Subramaniam has stepped in,” an Amazon spokesperson said.

    Subramaniam, who has over 20 years of experience in television, radio and print, also worked with Disney, Turner, Magna and Star. He quitt Disney Media Networks in April 2017, and joined Prime shortly later. Before joining Disney, Subramaniam was with MTV India as the advertising sales director, responsible for delivering revenue objectives for MTV. 

    While free Youtube, which makes money with ads, is successful in India, Prime Video is among the first SVoDs which is succeeding owing to scale.

    Also Read:

    Amazon Prime country head Nitesh Kripalani quits

    Amazon Prime plans to add more originals & evaluating regional content

  • Disney gives 2D characters physical form

    MUMBAI: Disney Research has reportedly developed a method based on cable-driven mechanisms that can help artists give physical form and motion to two-dimensional characters. It uses assemblies of joints and cables to make poses and desired motions in a character.

    Cables can only exert force in one direction – by pulling – so fully actuated joints demand two cables to move in both directions, PTI reported. In using the method to design and constructing its 2D “Fighter,” US researchers showed that the mechanical character was able to achieve the desired poses with accuracy. The design for the lower body initially included 1,600 cables; the number was eventually reduced in 25 seconds to eight; further refinement took just 181 seconds to reduce the number of cables to three. The 2D gripper they designed and built was able to pick up the light objects it was designed to lift. The robotic hand, with three fingers and a thumb, demonstrated that the method could be used to combine cable drives in more than one plane.

    Assemblies of joints and cables are capable of helping in achieving desired poses and motions in a character, even when artistic preferences dictate limb sizes that make it infeasible to place motors at each joint, PTI reported. The cable-driven mechanism is also suitable for devices such as robotic hands, that must be lightweight and small to function.

    The Disney team, supported by researchers from the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), ETH Zurich and the University of Toronto developed the method which was presented at Symposium on Computer Animation (SCA) 2017 in Los Angeles (U.S.). The team developed a method in which a user designs a skeletal frame or other assembly of rigid hinges and links and then specifies a set of target poses for those assemblies.

    Research scientist Moritz Bacher says that the advent of consumer-level 3D printing and off-the-shelf yet affordable electronic components gave artists the machinery to make physical and articulated versions of animated characters. He says his approach eliminated much of the complexity of designing those mechanisms.

    US researchers from MIT demonstrated their method by designing a 2D puppet-like version of an animated character that is able to assume several desired fighting stances. They also used it to design a gripper for picking up light objects and a simple robotic hand with an opposable thumb.

    Disney Research VP Markus Gross says that a number of design tools developed over the past 30 years had enabled artists to instill life into animated characters, creating expressions by posing a hierarchical batch of rigid links. In the age of animatronics and robotics, he says, one needs to give hobbyists and artists similar tools to make animated physical characters just as expressive.

    The Disney team, in this case, designed devices that were not intended to interact with people. They sought to minimise the number of cables, and eventually incorporated springs into the joints to move them in the opposite direction when the cable tension was eased.

    The method computes a cable network that can reproduce those poses, first generating a large set of cables – typically a thousand or more – with randomly chosen routing points. Redundant cables are then gradually removed. The routing points are then refined to take into account the path between poses, and further reduce the number of cables and the amount of force necessary to control them.

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  • Doordarshan opens doors to sponsored serials in 8 categories

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan (DD) has invited entries under the sponsored category for the mid-prime time band on Doordarshan National in eight different categories. All proposals have to be submitted by 14 August 2017 along with a processing fee.

    A pilot episode in professional optical disc HD Format 16:9 aspect ratio will also have to be submitted.

    The DD website contains all details relating to the requirements.

    The categories for which programmes have been invited are: youth magazine / women magazine; family drama / sitcom / suspense thriller, mythological serial, film-based series, chat show / game show / quiz shows; music shows / reality shows / travel shows / cookery shows; celebrity chat shows; and telefilm series.

    AlsO Read :

    Doordarshan mulls reach extension in south & east markets with new regional offerings

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    Doordarshan in talks with US co as it plans varsity leagues via PPP

     

  • Doordarshan in talks with Disney for kiddy content in evening slots

    MUMBAI: Doordarshan, which is gearing up to launch a kiddy channel as part of its bouquet, is said to be in talks with Disney for content aimed at youngsters in evening time-slots, according to a senior executive of the pubcaster.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Doordarshan DG Supriya Sahu, while asserting the organisation is planning a kids’ channel, confirmed that there’s a plan afoot to open a time-slot for such programming. “Some work is already on with Disney for the kids content,” she said, but hastily added, “It is (still) early to talk about it right now and an announcement would be made once things are finalized on this front.”

    This time-slot on a DD channel is being created, probably, to test waters and see the appetite for kids content before the launch of a full-fledged kids channel as part of its over 30-channel bouquet. Disney India could not be contacted for comments.

    According to earlier media reports, which quoted Sahu, India’s national broadcaster had drawn up a blueprint for FTA kids channel early 2017 made up of largely original and country-focused programming. She had said that the kids channel was part of pubcaster’s plans to launch FTA sports and kids channel for mainly viewers of DD FreeDish, a satellite-based service comprising DD and private FTA TV channels.

    However, some independent observers opined that DD wading into the kids’ content area is also part of the government’s plans to showcase programming that would reflect the Indian culture in a better fashion compared to mostly foreign content consumed by Indian children presently.

    At present, kids’ content available in India is from the stable of foreign players such as Nickelodeon, Turner, Disney, Discovery and lately Sony Pictures Network apart from some TV channels from India media companies such as Sun TV.

    ALSO READ:

    Doordarshan D-G Supriya Sahu says studying tie-ups & models as kids channel launch nearing

    DD’s kids channel could partner private players, launch this year

  • DishTV launches Disney active service

    MUMBAI: They woke up a little late. Even though summer vacation is coming to a close, DishTV, Asia’s largest DTH service provider, and Disney India have announced the launch of Disney Active. Disney Active is available on Channel No. 966 on Dish TV.

    Disney Active, a fun and engaging service, brings home the magical world of Disney through a host of read-along-e-books and games.

    Disney has a legacy of timeless stories and characters and there is no better way to experience them than on one’s personal television. The audio-visual read-along stories are customised for children aged three and up, and will include Mickey & Friends, Disney Princess, Frozen, The Jungle Book, Disney. Pixar Cars, Toy Story and much more.

    The games feature classic Disney characters like Mickey & Friends, Tinker Bell and more. This service is available for free till 10 June, 2017, for all Dish TV subscribers, after which it will be available at an introductory price of Rs 40 per month.

    DishTV group CEO Anil Dua said, “Value added services has been a focus area, a clear differentiator and an integral part of our offering. We are delighted to announce our specialty offering targeted at the youngest generation. Kids segment is an area which is constantly in focus for us. Launch of Disney Active service is yet another step for us to enhance our value added services portfolio and cater to our subscribers. After having received a positive response to our earlier services, we take immense pleasure in now announcing the launch of Disney Active Service.”

    Disney India VP & head – media networks & interactive Abhishek Maheshwari said, “At Disney, we constantly strive to offer quality content to our consumers on their platform of choice. We are delighted to work with DishTV to launch the Disney Active service comprising games and stories. We do hope children enjoy this compelling content.”

  • Reliance Entertainment re-launches Bigflix in nine languages

    MUMBAI: Anil D. Ambani led Reliance Entertainment’s pioneering movie platform, Bigflix, is now a global personal blockbuster for Indians in India and audiences across the world. Reliance Entertainment today announced the launch of Bigflix in a nine-language, multilingual avatar for India and global markets. With the re-launch, the country’s first video-on-demand brand is back with a contemporary positioning and a bigger reach in and outside of India.

    The new Bigflix will have 2000 HD movies in nine Indian languages to start with, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Bengali. The indigenously developed technology of Bigflix will deliver a personalised theatre experience to users who can stream and download movies advertisement-free, on any Internet-connected device including personal computers, tablets, smartphones, smart TVs and game consoles.

    Bigflix technology will allow a multi-screen experience to users who will be able to switch devices – smartphone to tablet to television and back – in the middle of a film. The same technology will also allow a clean and smooth film experience.

    Said Reliance Entertainment chief operating officer Shibasish Sarkar, “Indians are moving to digital entertainment in a big way with consumption growing on daily basis. Notably, Bigflix will fill in the void created by the decline of the home video market by digitally delivering movies.”

    With 3.9 million registrations, Bigflix is already amongst the leading SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) provider. It offers video content in categories such as feature films, short films, devotional, and movie trailers.

    Reliance Entertainment-Digital CEO Amit Khanduja said, “Globally the demand for video content has risen steeply, and the digital platform is witnessing a wider audience everywhere, including India. Bigflix will provide high quality video content from some of the biggest banners including Dharma, Disney, Viacom, Phantom, Telegu One and Rajshri, among others.”

    In its revamped avatar, Bigflix will also serve the latent demand of the Indian expatriates across the world. With its multi lingual library of 2000+ HD films, including latest films, Bigflix aims to put an end to piracy and poor quality film viewing.

    Bigflix is one of the world’s largest SVOD provider with over 3.9 million registered users. Launching with an aggressive pricing of Rs 50 for unlimited viewing per month, Bigflix is set to provide quality entertainment without breaking the bank across genres, languages and platforms.